European Ghost Towns

Real estate crashes in Spain and Ireland have led to towns that were supposed to be vibrant suburban paradises for young people becoming one of the most obvious testaments to the countries’ boom gone bust. Such modern-day ghost towns have become a familiar landscape around Spain and Ireland, abandoned shells left to slowly decay.

The property boom in Spain has left an estimated 1.5 million unsold new homes. That doesn't count developments where building simply stopped. There are more than 33,000 unoccupied homes on Ireland’s ghost estates, according to a report from the Department of the Environment. But as house prices continue to fall and unemployment keeps rising, it may be years before these ghost towns show signs of life.